Longitudinal Study of Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

The following cohorts and timelines are anticipated: • Cohort 1 - starting around age 4-5 (reception) following annually from 2027 • Cohort 2 - starting around age 10-11 (year 6) following annually from 2028 • Cohort 3 - starting around age 15-16 (year 11) following annually from 2029 A mixed mode approach is anticipated, to ensure accessibility and inclusion of a range of participants.

Face-to-face fieldwork will be particularly important to ensure engagement and face-to-face fieldwork for all waves should be expected for some participants. For cohort 1, data would be collected from the parents of sampled pupils at every wave. Pupil data collection will start at an appropriate child age. Teacher reports may be collected at one or more waves.

For cohort 2, data would be collected from sampled pupils and parents at every wave. Teacher reports may be collected at one or more waves. A suitable team for this project would have a wealth of expertise and experience spanning longitudinal studies and complex sampling.

Experience and expertise of inclusive research with children and young people with a range of special educational needs and disabilities would be of equal importance. Consortium bids would be encouraged to enable the formation of well-integrated teams with both longitudinal and SEND expertise that can deliver high quality fieldwork to agreed timelines.

The project would likely initially run from Summer 2026 - Spring 2030. A maximum budget of approximately £14.5M is anticipated . Additional information: We will be hosting 2 market engagement events where we will share an overview of the project followed by a discussion. Both sessions will cover the same content.

Sessions will be hosted online, via Microsoft Teams on: • Thursday 27th November at 12:00 - 13:00 • Monday 1st December at 14:00 - 15:00 If you would like to attend, please email SEND.longitudinal@education.gov.uk letting us know your name, organisation and which date you wish to attend.

Please note: This session is for market engagement only and is intended as an early-stage discussion to gauge interest and gather feedback. It does not represent a guaranteed or confirmed procurement opportunity.